It doesn’t matter if your fancy is John Clayton (Lord Greystoke) or James Bradley (Jungle Jim) or even just plain George and his “mate” Tookie there is a place in 7TV Pulp for you.

Let’s start with Tarzan first.

There are endless options with a standard 35 star rating cast. The obvious choices are Tarzan as the “Jungle Paragon”, and Jane as the “Stalwart Sidekick”. The next obvious theme choice is Cheetah as the “Chimpanzee” (surprise surprise!). With the main cast in place your options really depend on what your movie theme is. Are you trying to protect the pygmy tribal lands from gold mining or are the pygmies in league with some evil being intent on destroying Tarzan.

In my first option I have chosen the former by having the Pygmy “Tribal Host” as allies of Tarzan. I have added a chieftain, a witch doctor and five warriors, three with bow and two with spear.

The second option is just by changing the options with the tribal extras. I have swapped the warriors for the chieftains female bodyguard. In games terms this replaces missile fire with greater close combat abilities. I am hesitant to even talk about game effect as I think you should be really worrying about the theme of the miniatures and not their game effectiveness.

Another option is to go totally down the “Lord of the Apes” theme with this one. The extras now consist of a giant ape (King Kong) and three great apes. Cannot shoot but boy can they fight!

Tarzan might be escorting a party bringing supplies to the blockaded Pygmy tribe. Here the extras include a Chief Bearer, six Bearers, two Native Warriors and a Great Ape.

Other possible options within theme include lesser animals like a monkey, or a greater animal like an adult lion, rhinoceros, or elephant.

As I have said you are only limited by your imagination and what fits within the genre of your pulp movie. The “Casting Guide” provides guidelines on what Star, Co-star or extra fits within what genre.

Tarzan could of course be placed in a Victorian England setting. Who knows he might even join forces with Sherlock to deal with Jack, or that pesky varmint, Moriarty.

There really was a man, an English nobleman, who, shipwrecked on the jungle coast of Africa, was cared for by the apes, grew up with them and eventually survived a thousand adventures before returning to London to assume his rightful title and position. The man was William Charles Mildin, 14th Earl of Streatham. For 15 years, between 1868 and 1883 his life was the prototype of Tarzan

George of the Jungle

This one is not so straight forward. you have several choices. You can treat George as the “Jungle Paragon” and treat him as the hero, or as the “Comic Relief” and have Ursula Stanhope as the “Jungle Paragon”. I prefer this option, because of those regular incidents with a certain tree.

Tookie the Toucan could be treated as a “Lesser Animal Companion”, Shep as a “Greater Animal Companion”, while Ape speaks for itself. George does not really have any allies until George of the Jungle 2 in which he is joined by his son (“Stalwart Sidekick”), a kangaroo (“Greater Animal Companion”) and other animals when he regains their trust. In George of the Jungle 2 my preference would be to have George as the “Jungle Paragon”.

Unfortunately I do not have an Indian Elephant (Shep was not an African elephant!) without a howdah, but there are some great Toucan miniatures on Etsy for sale.

Jungle Jim

Jungle Jim has a rich literature to source your caste and movie themes from. Initially a comic strip which featured stories revolving around pirates, slave traders and other common jungle antagonists. As World War 2 began the strip developed a wartime theme, with Jim fighting the Japanese.

There were then 16 movies, and a single season TV show which although only running for one season was in syndication for several years. It was regular after school viewing for me.

In the films Jim’s only friend was a chimpanzee named Tamba, shades of Chetah from Tarzan. But when the film series ended, Columbia which had by now gone into the television business, put Weissmuller in a half hour series as the intrepid jungle guide who got into all kinds of adventures.

Jungle Moon Men with “She” overtones provides an Egyptian like setting.

In the Jungle Jim television series Jim got some human co-stars in the persons of his teenage son, Skipper, Haseem, the Hindu manservant, and Tamba the chimpanzee. Commissioner Morrison also appeared in nine episodes.

As a guide Jungle Jim went wherever he was contracted to go which saw him in many exotic locations other than Africa, giving you lots of scope as film director to place your cast in any location.

Though there were female guest stars, I never recall any romantic plots in any of the episodes.

Left to right Skipper, Jungle Jim, Tamba, Hassem, and Commissioner Morrison.

Many other Jungle Heroes exist including Ka’a’nga, a Tarzan style clone, Ranger Comics 1948 “Jan of the Jungle”, “Lorna the Jungle Queen”, and of course “Sheena Queen of the Jungle”. So there you have it. Lots of scope to use your jungle heroes.

PS I haven’t forgotten that other jungle hero, “The Ghost Who Walks” – the Phantom, who will be the subject of a separate post.